EU farm leaders have called for more support funding to be made available from the Common Agricultural Policy to help producers struggling with the effects of the Russian ban on food imports from the EU.

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The call for more support was issued on Tuesday by EU farm group Copa Cogeca. The group's calls coincided with demonstrations in Brussels organised by Polish farm unions. The farmers warned that "producers' livelihoods are threatened and prices are hitting rock-bottom."

Copa said it welcomed EU Commission action to support the EU fruit and vegetables sector, announced shortly after the ban came into force. The initial funding was intended to provide support for farmers who had orders of perishable horticulture produce cancelled and who did not have time to find alternative markets.

However, producers have warned that the €125 million (£100m) released by the Commission from the Common Agricultural Policy crisis mechanism is not enough to cover the wide-ranging effects of the diplomatic spat. Farmers in Southern Spain protested last week, claiming they were not being supported and alleging that retailers were capitalising on the fallout from the ban by lowering prices paid to their suppliers.

On Tuesday, Copa said that, with EU producer prices falling by 50 percent in some cases, the aid package will not be enough. Farmers added that other sectors being hit by the ban like the dairy sector will also need support.

Impact of ban will exceed CAP crisis fund

Copa-Cogeca Secretary-General Pekka Pesonen commented, "Around 10 percent of our exports are sent to Russia, worth 11 billion euros annually, and the support allocated so far is not nearly enough to compensate fruit and vegetable producers for the effects of it. Additional aid is needed to prevent the market from spiralling out of control, causing further damage to the economy. I offer my deepest support to the Polish fruit and vegetable producers who are demonstrating in Brussels today.

"This follows a protest by Spanish farmers and agri-cooperatives over the weekend. The ban is hitting many countries across Europe hard. The dispute is not our fault yet it's our sector that is being hit the most."

The EU farm union called for implementation of extraordinary market measures to head off the worst potential impacts, including accelerating the date of payment for direct payments, speeding up promotion campaigns to stimulate new domestic demand and finding new markets for produce that would otherwise be destined for Russia.

Pesonen said that initial estimates suggest that the financial impact of the ban, which is forecast to last for one year, will be much bigger than the €400 million available in the CAP crisis fund. Pesonen's union has asked the EU to make funds available from elsewhere.

EU farm organisations will be meeting to discuss the situation and look at the potential outcomes. EU ministers are set to do the same on 5^th September.